Lighting the way

Lighting the way

Visit Us

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Visit the 154 year old Light Station and enjoy the most unique experience on the Mendocino coast! Climb to the top of the 115' tall Lighthouse Tower and enjoy spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, Manchester Beach and the Point Arena/Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument. Spend time learning the history and technology of the Light Station in the Fog Signal Building Museum, and be awed by the Museum's centerpiece - the original 1st Order Fresnel lens that lit the way in the Tower from 1908 through 1977. Shop in our Light Station Store where you will find an impressive collection of high quality T-shirts, sweatshirts, pullovers, jackets and outerwear as you would expect, but the store will also delight you with its jewelry, books, postcards, decorative housewares, children’s items, clocks and wall art, posters, glassware and more. Explore our 23 acre Outdoor Museum with its one-of-a-kind stone installations and art, native plant gardens, blufftop hiking trails and beautiful viewing spots to look for migrating whales and seabirds.

Light Keeper's Rentals

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Relax and enjoy the exclusive accommodations in the historic Light Keeper’s Cottages & Studios, where you can explore the 23 acre Outdoor Museum, take free tours of the Lighthouse Tower and Fog Signal Building Museum, watch for whales, seals, seabirds and raptors and indulge in the welcome gifts of local wine and chocolates.

Light Station Store

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The Light Station Store team invested many hours of research to provide a wide variety of items for sale, from souvenir trinkets to beautiful, one-of-a-kind nautical themed works of art. We sell products to help support the Lighthouse, but our vision goes beyond a profit margin. We want all our visitors to truly enjoy themselves, so our team has strived to provide a fun shopping experience for all ages and budgets.

Arena Mina

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Our Guest Relations Manager and Rodent Control Specialist, Arena Mina, continues to excel at both after 7 years on the Light Station. To go along with the original book Arena Mina, the Lighthouse Cat - a True Story Lifetime member and author Liz Redon penned a second Mina book, Mina and the Lighthouse Lockdown, both of which are available in the Light Station Store. Former Store Associate Dennae Silva-Timberlake took an amazing photo of Mina and the Fresnel lens and it is now a popular post card in the store. There are several Mina-ish stuffed kitties in the store, along with an Arena Mina sticker, our 2nd best selling sticker.

Tasi

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Our canine Guest Relations Manager Tasi loves her role at the Light Station. Children in particular adore her and love to give her pets and hugs. Like Mina she has a sticker (doesn’t sell as well as Mina’s though!) and a stuffed dog that looks (somewhat) like her. Liz Redon and Mark Hancock penned Tasi, the Lighthouse Dog - A True Story children's book to go along with Mina’s two books, the second of which - Mina and the Lighthouse Lockdown - introduces Tasi to Mina and the Lighthouse. All 3 books are available in the Light Station Store.

Support Us

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Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers, Inc. (PALKI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to maintain in perpetuity the historic Point Arena Light Station – including the 23 coastal acres it encompasses, its 115 ft. Lighthouse Tower and its 1896 Fog Signal Building – for the inspiration, education and the enjoyment of all generations to come. PALKI thanks its 400+ Annual and Lifetime members, coastal friends, residents, and visitors for their support. We ask those who are Annual Members to renew their membership yearly or consider becoming Lifetime Members when your renewal comes due.

Do We Still Need Lighthouses?

People frequently ask us if Lighthouses are still needed in this era of GPS navigation and electronics. The best answer we can give is this voicemail we received in March 2017 from a 23 year commercial sailor thanking us for being here because we got him home that night!

Click to listen to voicemail

Did you know?

  • The first known lighthouse was the Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt. Ptolemy I and his son Ptolemy II constructed it between 300 and 280 B.C. It stood about 450 feet high. This lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed in stages by invaders and earthquakes, being completely destroyed in the 1300’s.
  • The oldest existing lighthouse in America is Sandy Hook, NJ (1764), which is still in operation.
  • Whale oil was used with solid wicks as the source of light until a parabolic reflector system was introduced around 1810.
  • Although the Fresnel lens was invented in 1822, it wasn’t used in this country until the 1850’s.

Get in Touch

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Hours:

Memorial Day through Labor Day

10am - 4:30pm

Rest of the year

10am - 3:30pm

Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas Days

Admission Prices:

Site Visit Fee

Members and Children under 12

Free

12 and over

$5

Tower Tour (in addition to site visit fee)

4 and over

$5

Phone:

877-725-4448, ext. 1 or

707-882-2809, ext. 1

Email:

info.palight@gmail.com

Address:

45500 Lighthouse Road

P. O. Box 11

Point Arena, CA 95468